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It’s been a season of funerals. Having attended three funerals over the last 9 days, I’ve been thinking a lot about life and what it’s all about. At two of the three funerals, there have been a significant amount of people who came to celebrate the impact the departed had made on their lives. And it’s put life on my mind. I know, it should have put death on my mind. But honestly, I’ve already faced death, and life is all I have left. Perhaps it’s because I am teetering on the verge of my 40th birthday that I am spending time contemplating what’s left of my life. But whether it’s funerals, my impending passage into my 40’s, or some weird combination of both, I’ve had to really think through my existence.

And when I get down to the brass tacks, I can understand why people experience a mid-life crisis. Unresolved dreams mixed with an unresolved fear of death could drive a person to some crazy things. But the words of Jesus, as recorded in all three of the Synoptics, remind me that it’s in the loss of my life for His sake that I truly live. As Christians, Jesus takes care of our deaths “upfront,” so we can focus on life and real living. And so it is that all of those who have trusted Jesus for their eternity can face the rest of their lives with the reassurance that they have already died. All we have left to do is to live! And live well.